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Thursday, February 19, 2015

The Last Time We Say Goodbye - Cynthia Hand

The Last Time We Say Goodbyeby Cynthia HandPublisher: Harper TeenPublication Date: February 10, 2015Source/Format: Edelweiss (Thanks!) || e-galley[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects my review.]

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment. Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything. Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

Grief is a fascinating thing. There are many ways that it can affect a person, influence their choices and actions and be dealt with. There is no "one way" to experience grief, and the large collection of stories about grief is testament to its variations. The Last Time We Say Goodbye is Cynthia Hand's take on grief, particularly after losing a sibling to suicide. It's a beautifully executed, well-told tale that tugged on my heartstrings from start to finish.

Main character Lex is the type of gal who enjoys a good mathematical formula, works hard academically (and has the results to show for it) and believes that most things in life have a logical explanation. So, everything she feels after her brother's death? It turns her world upside down when she can't logic her way out of it. The Last Time We Say Goodbye is about how Lex is working through her grief. There are ups and downs, but it's all about the step-by-step forward progress she is making. Whether or not you wind up liking her (I did!), her experience is certainly easy to relate to.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye chronicles one girl's emotional journey as she grapples with grief, guilt and anger. It is a privilege to be able to walk with Lex, to witness all that she goes through in a portrayal that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Though it will be quite the sucker punch to your emotions, I highly recommend reading The Last Time You Say Goodbye and can easily say it's one of the most moving books I've read already this year.

Do you prefer Cynthia Hand's paranormal series or her contemporary novel?

Hands down, I loved The Last Time We Say Goodbye more. Even though I also love the Unearthly trilogy (Unearthly, Hallowed, Boundless) to pieces (and it even made me cry!), my personal connection to Lex was the clincher in my choice. Lex's story is painful; it's hard to go through so many different emotions, particularly for a gal like her. But there's something beautiful about watching the pain and anger break her open, leave her raw and seeing how that wound slowly, slowly, slowly starts to heal. Just thinking about it makes me want to hug Lex and this book!

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43 comments

the Unearthly trilogyI knew her name sounded familiar!! I see these books a LOT at work and have heard good things! Novels that deal with Heavy Topics (like grief, for example) are seriously hit-or-miss with me: sometimes I'm all about them, others I have an extremely hard time bracing myself for them. Perhaps I should start with her paranormal and go from there?

I feel the same way about this book! It was heartbreaking and beautiful to watch her work through and learn to work with her grief. I think I might prefer her Unearthly books, but that's mostly because after three books I was SO invested in that story, I totally cried at the end.

Nice to properly meet you, Alexandra! We seem to have a love for fantasy in common. I also write... but also have yet to make a decent habit out of it. *whistles innocently* Thank you so much for hosting the Love-a-Thon - this is my first time joining, and I'm really excited!

Last week, I decided to surprise one of my bookish friends with a valentine's heart. We have a few running jokes about Church the cat from The Mortal Instruments so the message on it was "I've never seen a cat look so self-satisfied." Thankfully, she loved it.

Thanks so much for all your hard work Alexa!! I love this idea, and I can't wait to do all the challenges. Uptown Funk is such a great song! I loved ACOTAR too, it was amazing <33 I need Queen of Shadows yesterday... It was so nice getting to know a bit more about you :)

LOVE UPTOWN FUNK!! Uptown Funk gon give it to ya!! I am BLOWN away at how many awesome people have signed up for this. i love it and think it is such an incredible thing you are doing to contribute to the positive voice in our community. I feel honored to be part of something this fabulous. My love a thon RAK was i was just gushing on a book that I am desperately needing in my life on twitter when a friend tweeted me and said "I have that ill send it to you, no strings attached." I was so grateful and beyond excited!!Thank you for taking the time to organize this event.<3 Britt @ pleasefeedthebookworm.com

Uptown Funk gets played a lot in our house right now. My little one just started dance lessons and she loves practicing her moves to that song! Thank you for hosting this. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to meet new book bloggers!

Oh man. I loved Incarnate so much! It will show up in my snapshots post. :D I haven't continued the series yet though, but I do own them all and will someday! I loved ACOTAR so so so much and I cannot even wait for QoS! Maas is a brilliant genius. I almost said Lilah for my BFF too! Thanks so much for hosting this girl!

This is so fun! I am going to have to check out the Newsoul series. Your photos are awesome! My brother's favorite song is Uptown Funk right now also. Getting ready to check out everyone else's questionaires.

Thanks for hosting this event!! I enjoyed learning more about you. I enjoy both scrapbooking and traveling too. Meeting new authors is also too!! I recently met author Paula Hawkins at an author event/signing... And even had her sign my copy of The Girl on the Train.

YES! Truthwitch and Queen of Shadows :) I haven't read anything from Susan Dennard yet (shamefully) but I think this is the one to get me to start! Oh, bows to you for scrapbooking! I LOVE scrapbooking but I dont have the patience or artistic imagination to do it myself. I tried it when I was younger but never kept it up. I love seeing what others put together though, beautiful! Stationary shopping - yes to that! I haven't read Hundred Oaks series yet but I think it would make an awesome tv show by the sounds of it! I'd definitely watch it :)

THanks for putting this on again Alexa! I'm having so much fun already and it's just begun <3

WOOP! Fellow Sarah J. Maas lover, ACOTAR and Queen of Shadows are on my top 5 too! She's just so good and I can't wait to see what craziness she comes up with in these two books. Happy Love-a-Thon! Can't wait to see what you've got in store these next two days :)

Thanks so much for hosting, Alexa! I had so much fun with this event last year and can't wait to start blog hopping! I definitely agree that the people are the best part of blogging. I've made so many awesome friends, people I never would have met had it not been for blogging.

Thanks so much for hosting this - it's such a great idea! I'm so freaking happy about Uptown Funk being a hit on the radio - I am rarely excited about hearing a song a billion times, but anytime it's on it makes my day. So my day gets made a lot haha! And YES! The Sevenwaters series - particularly the first two books would make a really, really awesome tv show for sure.

Ooh, I've been seeing the book around the blogosphere, and I think I would like it (based on the cover). But I usually have to be in the right mood to hand books with heavy subjects, like grief. It sounds good... I'll read it if I get a chance!

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Hi, I'm Alexa! 29 years old, married to the love of my life, resident of New York. Extremely passionate about books, adventures and the importance of dessert. Hope you stick around a while and enjoy a blog post or two! (PS - Here are my review & blog policies.)